A Legendary Story ~ An army spent years building boats in preparation for a war. Upon arrival on the shores, the general turned around and demanded that his troops burn the boats they’d spent years building. “But why?” his soldiers asked. “We will have no escape if things get bad.” “Exactly,” the general replied. “You win or you die.” Burn the Boats! 40 years earlier the Israelites escaped into the wilderness from the Egyptians by crossing the Red Sea on dry land. The sea parted and the nation walked to the other side on dry land. As the Israelites stepped out of the Red Sea, the waters rushed back, drowning the Egyptians that chased them. Now, as the Israelites step out of the Jordan, the same thing happens: READ Josh. 4:18. The major difference between the Red Sea and the Jordan: When Israel crosses the Red Sea and the Sea returned to normal, the Red Sea becomes a protection from the enemy.When the Jordan River returns to normal, there is no longer a path of escape. The boats have been burned.

Joshua 4:18 says a lot about being fully committed to God: burn your boats. You don’t need an escape route. Another important detail about Crossing the Jordan: the Jordan is flooding (Josh. 3:15). The people had been waiting 40 years, what would a few more months be to wait till the Jordan was at a reasonable level? They may not even need a miracle. When God says it is time, it is time. The path may seem overwhelming/ impossible, yet you go forward with God. Walt Disney said, “When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionably.” Don’t be like the politician and his promise: The politician is late to the meeting. He drives his car into the parking lot and can’t find a place to park. In desperation he raises his eyes to heaven and asks God, “Please help me to find a parking place. If you help me, I promise I'll go to church every Sunday and quit drinking.” Instantly a car pulls out of a parking spot leaving him a space to pull in and park. Once again the politician raises his eyes to heaven: “Lord, I have just found a parking spot myself, I don’t need your help anymore.” Maybe God wanted the Israelites to cross at flood stage of the Jordan, so it could only be by the hand of God. As soon as the priest stepped onto dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned, and the people were fully committed. Joshua could not possibly say, “I did it myself.” We don’t need a back up plan with God. When the preacher says, “I pronounce you are husband and wife,” you are fully committed. Burn your boats. Leave no option but to make a great marriage. When the chairman of the board shakes your hand and says congratulations on your graduation, you are fully committed. No retreating to the days of childhood. A baby is born, you start a new job, you move to a new home, an illness diminishes your physical abilities. Go forward. As God takes us through transitions in life, he wants us to be fully committed and go forward in confidence with the Lord Jesus Christ. When I was in high school I was kind of strange. I often did not really want to go out with friends on a week-end night, I’d rather stay home. If somebody called I’d figure out a way to get my parents to say no so I could use them as an excuse. My world changed one day in later high school. I went to my father and asked if I could go to a movie with friends. He looked at me and spoke the fatal life changing words: “It’s up to you.” In that moment I watched as the waters rushed back covering my escape route. Personal responsibility was now mine. That boat of using my parents as an excuse was now burned. The book of Joshua is about being fully committed to God and where he is leading you. And God, in his great wisdom, cuts off the escape route. “No sooner had they set their feet on dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place…” I imagine more than one Israelite watched the river return to normal, and had buyers remorse: “What have I gotten myself into.” Sally and I had our house built, purchased the land, made plans, I’ll never forget looking at the house after the forms were removed from the foundation. Sally and I were silent, both thinking the same thing: it looks so small, and so much money, what have we done. It was too late to back out…That’s normal. There is no courage without fear. Be fully committed to God. As you face the newness of life God wants us to fully trust in him. You may never again have the health you once did, the opportunities, the resources… so you have no choice but to go forward with God. A few weeks ago a man proudly told me a new philosophy for why he believed in God. “I believe in God,” he said, “because if God really exists then I got it right. And if God doesn’t exist then it doesn’t matter.” Those are the words of a man that is shaky in his faith. There is only one truth ~ Jesus Christ is alive and he has provided the only way to salvation. I have burned the boat on any escape routes. “But how do I know other religions aren’t correct” some say. Because there is only one God and one truth and one savior. Make a full commitment to what you believe because the truth is that a half commitment is no commitment. There is only a narrow path to salvation it is true, but guess what, any and all are welcome. Maybe we should bring back a class on examining the claims of other religions so you can see the differences. We love escape routes, just in case God isn’t who he says he is, we try to structure our faith lives so that we can bail out just in case God doesn’t protect us… just in case prayer doesn’t really work… just in case God is more remote than what the preacher claims. Let’s minimize the risk, let’s wait till the flood season is over and we can follow God when it is less risky. Let’s look at God himself in the midst of the river. The Ark is key. The Ark is the representation of God himself. The Ark is a wooden box built back near the beginning of the Wilderness era under Moses, built with instructions from God himself. Contained in the Ark are the tablets of the law given to Moses, Aaron’s almond rod that miraculously budded, and a jar of manna: The word of God, the miracles of God and God’s provision. Obviously God is not confined to a box, but the Ark represents the presence of God. One of the joys I have about 3-4 times a year, is to meet a wandering person that cannot make it through the border. Food is good. Sleeping bags bring comfort. Clothing is a necessity. I listen a bit… but often the greatest thirst I see quenched is when I invite a wandering and confused person sit in this sanctuary, and invite them look at the stained glass of the Good Shepherd. Often there are tears. I pray for the peace of God to come upon them as they consider the Good Shepherd. God is no more present here than if I would take the person into the back shed, yet somehow it helps to have the reminder, the association, the quietness, the beauty, the peace…The Ark is a reminder of God: His word, his miracles, his daily bread. Who is this God? He is a Triple A God. He is the best. With the Triple A God we serve, you don’t need an escape route. Triple A: God goes Ahead of the Israelites into the waters of the Jordan. God is Amidst the Israelites as they pass through the Jordan on dray Ground. God comes After the Israelites when they have all crossed safely. Ahead. Amidst. After. Having God on your side would be like playing a game of pick up basketball and having one of your teammates be Labron James. There is no chance you will lose the basketball game. And this is why you can go forward in confidence with God: God has a triple A rating: Ahead. Amidst. After. I am reminded of the well known words of St. Patrick from what has been named “The Breastplate of Christ.” Take your bulletin and let’s read together the words printed on the inside page that describe the EVERYTHING of Christ. Let’s read together…. “Christ be with me…” (see full prayer below) This is a long prayer with multiple sections. Here is another sample: I arise todayThrough God's strength to pilot me:God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me,God's eye to look before me,God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak to me,God's hand to guard me,God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me,God's host to save me,Ahead of us. Amidst us. After us. God goes before us, preparing the way, he is with us every step, and he brings up the rear to cover our backside. The Ark was ahead of them. READ Josh. 3:6, 11. – the Lord leads the way. The way may look very daunting, uncertain, confusing, like a river flooding its banks, but be assured God is already there. The place where the water of the Jordan piled up is roughly 10-15 miles upstream. God can do anything God wants, but it’s almost as if God had the water stop flowing before the priests stepped into the water, so that as they stepped in the last of the water flowed on by, so that there was nothing but dry ground on all sides. We worry about where God is taking us. There is a bend in the path up ahead and we don’t know what’s around the corner. God has already made preparations for us to be protected. Our only job is to put our toe in the water, and he’ll do the rest, because he is way ahead of us. As God chooses to use SACC for even greater things, I know that even now he is preparing people ahead of us that we have not even yet met. Then the Ark was moved to the middle of Jordan. READ Josh. 3:17. God was in the middle of their difficult path. We panic when we feel alone. What kind of mess have we gotten ourselves into? In the middle of the River, in the middle of the difficulty, God is there. The entire nation passed by the Ark. If any person would be caught in the returning water, the Ark would have suffered the same fate. That’s God. I love going to the hospital and talking with people of faith who implicitly sense God’s presence no matter what may come. One of the greatest benefits of walking with God when life is relatively easy is so that when the way gets rough, to know God is still there. A young woman was in Bible Quizzing as a teenager. As she moved into young adult hood she made some not so good choices, straying away from the things of God. She was a passenger on a motorcycle that was struck by a car on the Guide 10+ years ago. The young woman was in a coma at first. Her brain had been rattled. As she regained consciousness her mind was not what it used to be, she could not speak, she could not match the right words with the right thing. Then one day out of her mouth came the book of Philippians, the chapters she had memorized 7-8 years earlier. The words of peace, the words of assurance. God was among her the whole time and he brought back the words of the Bible, his words. God IS with you. The pathway may look rough, like a dried up river bed, but he is there. Josh. 4:15 tells us the Ark came up from the river after everyone has crossed READ. God is behind us. Take a look at this photograph… On a trip up Mt. Baker, late 70s, I was on a rope with Tim and Steve Vandenbos. We were ahead of the other teams of people. Steve and I were walking together when we both stepped onto a crevasse and fell 15 feet. Tim stayed on top. I landed on my feet. Steve on his back. Neither one of us were hurt. Tim looked down the hole. The only thing we could think of to do was for Tim to unrope and go back to get my father who was coming after us. I never worried one moment. What was the worst that could happen? My father was coming after me. This is the photograph of my father at the top of the crevasse, and my feet coming out. How much more God? A good father is there to protect his children, to clean up, to straighten out, to come after us. God comes after us and protects, cleans up, takes any danger entirely upon himself. We serve a Triple A God: He goes ahead of us preparing the way. He is Among us so we are never alone. He comes after us to straighten out any messes along the way. It’s time to make a full commitment to God. It’s time to burn the boats. It sounds overwhelming, like a river that has flooded, yet he is going Ahead of You. As you go down the path he is Among you, so that you are never alone. And as you cross over, the Lord comes After you, ready to rescue and protect you. Make a full commitment with our Triple A God and burn the boats, because you don’t need an escape route. Amen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For those who are interested: EXTRA NOTES... below are some extra notes from the sermon. First is a paragraph about St. Patrick followed by his well known "Breastplate of Christ" prayer in its entirety. Then is a "burning boat" story from history instead of the generic story that begins this sermon.

Patrick of Ireland 17 March ca.461 Patrick was born about 390, in southwest Britain, somewhere between the Severn and the Clyde rivers, son of a deacon and grandson of a priest. When about sixteen years old, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. Until this time, he had, by his own account, cared nothing for God, but now he turned to God for help. After six years, he either escaped or was freed, made his way to a port 200 miles away, and there persuaded some sailors to take him onto their ship. He returned to his family much changed, and began to prepare for the priesthood, and to study the Bible. Around 435, Patrick was commissioned, perhaps by bishops in Gaul and perhaps by the Pope, to go to Ireland as a bishop and missionary. Four years earlier another bishop, Palladius, had gone to Ireland to preach, but he was no longer there (my sources disagree on whether he had died, or had become discouraged and left Ireland to preach in Scotland). Patrick made his headquarters at Armagh in the North, where he built a school, and had the protection of the local monarch. From this base he made extensive missionary journeys, with considerable success. To say that he single-handedly turned Ireland from a pagan to a Christian country is an exaggeration, but is not far from the truth. translation by Kuno Meyer: I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the threeness, Through confession of the oneness Of the Creator of Creation. I arise today Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism, Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial, Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension, Through the strength of His descent for the judgement of Doom. I arise today Through the strength of the love of the Cherubim, In the obedience of angels, In the service of archangels, In the hope of the resurrection to meet with reward, In the prayers of patriarchs, In prediction of prophets, In preaching of apostles, In faith of confessors, In innocence of holy virgins, In deeds of righteous men. I arise today Through the strength of heaven; Light of sun, Radiance of moon, Splendour of fire, Speed of lightning, Swiftness of wind, Depth of sea, Stability of earth, Firmness of rock. I arise today Through God's strength to pilot me: God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak to me, God's hand to guard me, God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me, God's host to save me,

From snares of devils, From temptation of vices, From every one who shall wish me ill, Afar and anear, Alone and in a multitude. I summon today all these powers between me and those evils, Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul, Against incantations of false prophets, Against black laws of pagandom, Against false laws of heretics, Against craft of idolatry, Against spells of women and smiths and wizards, Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul. Christ to shield me today Against poising, against burning, Against drowning, against wounding, So there come to me abundance of reward. Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every one who speaks of me, Christ in the eye of every one who sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through belief in the threeness, Through confession of the oneness Of the Creator of Creation. _____________ In February 1519, Hernando Cortez set sail on the final leg of an ocean voyage that was to take him from Cuba to the distant shores of the Yucatan. He commanded 11 ships with more than 500 soldiers, 100 sailors, and 16 horses, bound for Mexico to take the world's greatest treasure. The rare jewels, gold, silver, and sculptures sheltered on the Yucatan had been hoarded by the same army for 600 years. Cortez had heard of riches of the Yucatan. With his men they arrived on shore. They did not go and take the treasure immediately, they waited until they were ready. Then Cortez told his men to "Burn the boats." The men were outraged wondering how they were going to get back to their families! Cortez told them to burn the boats and they would conquer the Yucatan army and gain their fortune. They would take the Yucatan's boats home. Burn the boats!

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Carl Crouse, Pastor

At SACC we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Every Sunday the worship service includes a message from the Bible. My words are an attempt to understand and apply the Bible to our daily living. I post weekly sermons and other biblical messages on this page. May you find meaning and hope as you read through each message and seek to hear God's voice. Leave a comment to ask questions or inspire others with your insights.

In general, the previous Sunday's sermon will be posted by Tuesday afternoon.